Stress management

stress management warrington

 

 

Stress management

Stress is so prevalent in today’s society, whether it is work related or not. We face all kinds of deadlines, anxieties and frustrations. Most people see stress as something entirely normal even though the symptoms are extremely unwelcome.

In small amounts, stress isn’t too bad, and most people will feel the effects of stress at some points in their life. Its a little like performance anxiety in that it helps us prepare to give our best performance. However, when you are always on ‘high alert’, we start to feel the mental and physical effects, and they eventually will take their toll. So, before it gets to a level that affects your health severely, you may want to look into stress management as a way of coping with the signs and the symptoms.

Further down the page you will find a short questionnaire that you can fill in to see just how your levels of stress measure up to the average person.

What is stress?

Effectively, it is the fight or flight response, it’s a very normal physical response to situations in our lives where we feel fearful, threatened or under pressure. When we have a sense of threat, even imagined threat, our bodies natural defense mechanisms come into play and our body readies itself in a number of ways. Although it seems ironic, it is the body’s way of protecting you, readying you to either fight something or flee from something, giving you the extra strength, focus and speed. In small amounts the stress response can help us stay mentally alert and focused. If you needed to escape from a real dangerous situation, the stress response can help you evade harm.

 

You can certainly help yourself by recognising the signs and symptoms.

Here is a test that you can take. Add up the results at the end to see how you did.

 

Exercise: Stress Test

 

These questions apply to the last month only. Circle your answers and add them up. The key is below for scoring.

 

How often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly?

0=never 1=almost 2=sometimes 3=fairly often 4=very often

How often have you felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life?

0=never 1=almost 2=sometimes 3=fairly often 4=very often

How often have you felt nervous and “stressed”?

0=never 1=almost 2=sometimes 3=fairly often 4=very often

How often have you felt confident about your ability to handle your personal problems?

0=never 1=almost 2=sometimes 3=fairly often 4=very often

How often have you felt that things were going your way?

0=never 1=almost 2=sometimes 3=fairly often 4=very often

How often have you been able to control irritations in your life?

0=never 1=almost 2=sometimes 3=fairly often 4=very often

How often have you found that you could not cope with all the things that you had to do?

0=never 1=almost 2=sometimes 3=fairly often 4=very often

How often have you felt that you were on top of things?

0=never 1=almost 2=sometimes 3=fairly often 4=very often

How often have you been angered because of things that were outside your control?

0=never 1=almost 2=sometimes 3=fairly often 4=very often

How often have you felt difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them?

0=never 1=almost 2=sometimes 3=fairly often 4=very often

 

Results 

Stress levels vary among individuals. Compare your total score to the averaged below”

Age

18-29 —– 14.2

30-44 —–13.0

45-54 —–12.6

55-64 —–11.9

65 & over –12.0

 

Gender Men ——12.1

Women—13.7

 

Marital Status Widowed ————–12.6

Married or living –—-12.4

with someone Single or never wed—14.1

Divorced ————–14.7

Separated ————16.6

 

 

 


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